Greek Collard Green Wraps with Tzatziki

Crunchy wraps with all the Greek flavors. Features a lemon-herb quinoa, crisp veggies, and a creamy vegan tzatziki. Collard greens make for the perfect tortilla substitute. They’ll stay crisp in the fridge, so you’ll have dinner and tomorrow's lunch covered! Vegan & Gluten Free. <jump to recipe>

This week has flown by in what's felt like a single blink. Anguel and I spent the end of last week on the other side of the country (for work stuff), and I think it was the mid-weekend flight home that put me all out of whack. On the upside, we had a couple wonderful days in our old stomping ground. We ate pizza dinners with friends (twice), met up with old colleagues, saw one friend's new house and met another's new baby. We wrapped up the trip with huge smiles on our faces…and then as soon as we stepped on the plane, unintentionally replaced them with ugly-cute sleeping faces that stuck for the entire flight home.

Neither of us bothered to go too crazy with the groceries this week (surprising, I know). But we still need to eat – so this week was a lot of clean-out-the-fridge-type meals that could be pulled together in a jiffy. These veggie wraps are exactly that. You could really put whatever you want in them, but I stumbled across a combination that we're totally obsessed with.

First off, let me start by talking about collard greens. I feel like they don't get as much love as their close cousin kale, but this humble cruciferous definitely deserves some respect. Raw collard green leaves make excellent 'wraps'. They're a great gluten-free, grain-free option and let you pack even more nutritious veggies into your meal. And unlike bread or grain-based tortilla shells, collard green leaves don't get all sad and soggy. Thankfully, this means you can make a bunch of extra wraps and keep them in the fridge for a couple days without worrying. It truly makes for stress-free lunches and dinners.

The wraps themselves are pretty low-maintenance. To prepare the collard green leaves, all you'll need to do is give them a good wash, pat them dry and cut off the stalks. The next step is trimming the part of the stalk that runs through the leaf. Simply take a sharp knife and run it along the edge of the stalk to thin it down. You won't remove it completely, but just shave it down as much as you can (without cutting the leaf). This will make it easier to roll the leaves into wraps.

In addition to the creamy (vegan) tzatziki, these Greek Collard Green Wraps feature a delicious lemony herb quinoa. Then they're stuffed with crunchy fresh veggies, like cucumbers and bell peppers. Tasty garnishes like kalamata olives, red onion and fresh mint really bring the Greek-flavors full circle. For our tastes, these toppings add the perfect amount of crunch, creaminess, saltiness and fresh herb-alicious flavors. At the end of the day though, the beauty of these wraps is that they are super versatile. Want to add in some nuts? Go ahead. An extra squeeze of lemon or even a crumbling of feta cheese (vegan or not) would also pair well. Hope you guys enjoy them as much as we do!

Directions

Put the cooked quinoa in a medium sized bowl. Mix in the lemon juice and olive oil, until the quinoa is well coated. Add in chopped parsley, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Stir well, and then set aside.

Cut the thick stalks off the collard green leaves. Then, use a sharp knife to thin down the remaining stalk that runs up the length of the leaf. To do this, put the leaf face down – then, slide a knife along the stalk to shave as much of it down as you can (without cutting into the leaf). This helps the leaves be more flexible for rolling. Repeat with the remainder of the leaves.

To assemble, spread a generous layer of tzatziki sauce into the middle of the leaf. Scoop some herbed quinoa on top; then layer on the cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, red onion and mint. Roll the wraps just like you would a burrito: tuck in the short sides and then roll tightly. Keep extras in the fridge.

Notes:*The number of wraps will vary based on the size of the collard green leaves, and how much filling you add to each. Plan to have a few extra leaves on hand in case you need more. Opt for a bunch with medium to large sized leaves, as it makes rolling easier.**You can use red, orange and/or yellow peppers. 2 bell peppers will roughly yield 2 cups sliced.